


Rotten to the Core

by SociallyUnacceptableOrb



Series: NOVA Be Damned [2]
Category: Hoshi no Kaabii | Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
Genre: Fucking Abysmal Parenting, Gen, This Is Gonna Be My Last Yami-Centric Fic For A While
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-01 00:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17234381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SociallyUnacceptableOrb/pseuds/SociallyUnacceptableOrb
Summary: Kirby is shaped like a friend.Yamikage is shaped like an upsetting amount of knives in the form of an strawberry.And yet, Kirby is willing to help him out, even if for a short time.





	1. Chapter 1

Kirby and Benikage stood in the middle of the forest clearing, steely gazes on their targets. Each ninja held a shuriken tightly in one hand, ready to strike. Tiff and Tuff stood on the sidelines with bated breath, waiting to see who’d start off the contest. It was like a game of chicken with significantly less danger towards one’s well-being. That is, if Benikage’s aim had gotten any better.

With the gentle descent of a falling leaf, Benikage swung first.

If Benikage had speed down, Kirby had quantity on lock. He tossed three in rapid succession, the target shuddering with each hit. But the red-clad ninja wasn’t going to go down without a fight, and he began to accelerate further, launching his projectiles so quickly, even he didn’t see them leaving. By the time both had emptied out their arsenals, they were exhausted to the point of passing out then and there.

“Aaaaaaaand… it looks like Kirby wins!” Tuff cheered.

“What?!” Benikage shot up and awoke immediately, stirring Kirby in kind. “You’re kidding! We tied at most!”

“Nope,” Tuff said, and yanked a star from the bullseye with a short grunt. “Kirby hit the center more times than you did. That gave him five more points.”

“Lemme see!” Benikage marched up to the targets and squinted doubtfully. “Aw, c’mon! I was right on the line! That has to count, yeah?”

“Winning isn’t everything.” Tiff chided gently, pulling more of Kirby’s stars from his target.

Benikage mumbled something under his breath and began to pull out his shuriken, when out of the blue another one suddenly lodged itself in right next to his hand. The familiar buzz-cutter shape of the star… no, it couldn’t be. Benikage looked behind him and saw the silhouette of an egg-shaped ninja.

“Guys! Get down!” Benikage tackled the siblings to the ground, not one of his brighter moves as it turned out to be just what the stranger had wanted. He tossed a net atop the three of them and headed towards Kirby. Still drowsy, Kirby bounded away from the mystery man as the trio watched in horror. Now that he was closer, they could see that while he looked similar to Yamikage, the shorter hair and saurai armor implied this was someone new.

“Kirby! Look out!” Tuff shouted, trying to pull the net off of himself. Benikage had a slightly better idea to use his shuriken to cut them out, but it was slow going.

“Please tell me those aren’t still plastic!” Tiff begged.

“No, they’re real!” Benikage reassured as he began sawing through the cords. “I’m just a little new to them!”

Kirby let out a pained squeak as the stranger tossed another throwing star, this one connecting with his foot, electrocuting him and sending him to the ground. Tiff screamed and Benikage began sawing harder, his gaze darting from the samurai to the net. Kirby’s ability wore off, and he whined quietly as the man towered over him.

Before their assailant could finish Kirby off, Meta Knight dove in from nowhere and knocked him to the ground with a powerful kick. Tiff and Tuff cheered as Benikage finally broke through the mesh, Tiff rushing over to Kirby to check and make sure he was alright. Meta Knight shoved his foot on top of the samurai, pointing Galaxia right in-between his eyes. He tried to reach towards his sword, but Tuff quickly snatched it out of reach.

“What are you fools doing? I need you to help me, and this how you treat me?” he demanded. “My son was last seen in this county! It’s the least you can do for me, he might not have much time left!”

“Why should we care? You could’ve destroyed Kirby!” Benikage said, his hands akimbo. “We don’t even know who your son is!”

“I suppose we should get introductions out of the way,” Meta Knight growled, sheathing his sword. “This man is Keisuke, the father of the ninja who betrayed the Star Warriors.”

* * *

“He has a name, you know.” Keisuke chastised as he went through Dr. Yabui’s medicine cabinet.

“Yamikage’s name is not one I would like to easily call to mind,” Meta Knight dryly uttered as he stood atop the examination table. “Especially after what he’s done.”

“I meant his real name. Masashi.” The older man clarified. Meta Knight rolled his eyes. The five children weren’t sure of what to make of this, least of all Benikage, who had kept the same dazed expression on his face after hearing Meta Knight introduce the purple guy. They all had about a dozen questions each to ask him, but the shock from the sudden ambush hung over the area with an awkward haze.

“Like this boy! Your name can’t truly be Benikage, can it?” Arashikage called over to the young ninja, and Benikage just about jumped out of his skin upon hearing his booming tone.

“Uh, um… right! Mine’s Tsubasa.” he managed to squeak out. He awkwardly cleared his throat. “And uh, do you have a title?”

“I do indeed,” he said with a smile and a nod, and returned to collecting items. “I can only hope that having to resort to the underhanded shinobi way won't soil my reputation... ah, here we go!”

“What’s he even doing?” Tuff stage whispered to Meta Knight. “He just looks like he’s mashing stuff together.”

“If what he says is true, then he’s creating a cure for an extremely rare disease.” Meta Knight said. “Yamikage’s mother had it as well, it is called Heavy Heart Syndrome.”

“Yep, Heavy Heart Syndrome.” Yabui repeated, walking into the room with a large book. He slammed upon it a wheeled table and leafed through its pages until he came to the right one. “It’s a real doozy! Says right here that anyone who gets it might not even know about it until the bruise appears.”

Tiff walked over to the table and craned her neck to see the illustration. She immediately regretted it as she saw a graphic picture of a heart-shaped blotch covering a Cappy’s chest with sickly vessels coming out of the main cluster of veins as if it were kudzu. Yabui was undeterred and carried on with his description of the disease.

“If it’s not treated soon enough, the patient loses their emotions, starts seeing things, has all their joints lock up, and finally keels over!” Spoken like a true physician, though his actual doctorate probably could use some background checking. “It’s pretty easy to get a cure made, the hard part is making sure that the poor guy isn’t toast.”

“And a cure we have,” Keisuke said, and produced a spherical vial from seemingly nowhere, combining all the various medicines he’d taken from the doctor and mixing them into a dark purple slurry. “I only wished to bring one of his old friends along, if there were any still around. I wasn’t sure if I could do this myself…”

“So that someone else could do your dirty work and you could take the glory. How predictable.” Meta Knight snapped.

“Meta Knight, what’s gotten into you?” Tiff asked. “I’ve never seen you act like this before.”

Meta Knight shot a glare in her direction, but said nothing as he exited the room. The next morning, he left with Keisuke for the train station outside of town, much to the dismay of Dedede and Escargoon. Tiff and Tuff’s parents agreed to let the children go with on the condition that Meta Knight wouldn’t let them out of his sight, which he swore on his own honor as a knight, (begrudgingly) aided by Keisuke’s own code of honor.

As the train traveled onward, all of its occupants had quite a bit going through their minds.

Meta Knight’s morals and sense of justice were going toe-to-toe. On one hand, he knew that Yamikage was both in serious danger and serious danger himself. One couldn’t exactly go back from betraying the entire galaxy to a bloodthirsty monster with a quick run in the woods to blow off some steam, now could they? But then, Meta Knight had been told what Keisuke had done to Yamikage, what he’d done to Yamikage’s mother, treating them less of people and more of objects to prop up his perceived self-righteousness. It was the lesser of two evils, all right, but he’d greatly prefer if he didn’t have to make the choice between either.

Tiff and Tuff were awestruck at the world outside their tiny village. Tuff had enjoyed looking at all the cool bugs and animals that he could see out the window, and he was pretty impressed with how many more channels there were on these TVs. Tiff herself enjoyed meeting new people and seeing inklings of their different cultures during their brief stops, and silently promised herself to revisit them when Meta Knight wasn’t pushing her to get answers. They’d never realized how cut off they were from everywhere else until now.

Benikage thought long and hard if he even should have come along on this journey. The dark ninja still gave him nightmares even after all this time, and it made his stomach churn to think that the same person that had been haunting him for so long probably didn’t care about or remember him. He tried not to think about it, but every time Meta Knight or Keisuke mentioned his name, he felt uncomfortable. He’d try his best to put his fears aside and face Yamikage again.

Kirby looked at the pretty rock he’d found on the side of the road. He liked this rock very much.

* * *

Everything changed when the train stopped in the small village of Falluna. It had been the usual tirade of going door-to-door, asking officials and whatnot if they’d seen or heard anything about a Yamikage, until a young woman happened to pull Keisuke aside with an overjoyed look on her face and her golden eyes aglow. She explained at length that she knew exactly who they were talking about and offered to take them to where she worked with him, but her description couldn’t have been further from what anybody thought Yamikage was like.

“Masashi is a delight to have around! He’s so gentle, and soft-spoken, and sweet... he even got me this yesterday!” She motioned towards a yellow butterfly shaped clip in her hair, which accented her off-black pigment nicely. “But sometimes, he does worry me. He’s quite forgetful, and he often works himself too hard, even going days without sleeping. Why do you need to find him, anyways?”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about. I will get him,” Meta Knight says suddenly, stepping out in front of the group. “I think it’s the only way he’ll willingly follow us. All of you, stay out here.”

Meta Knight spoke to all of them, but even Kirby could tell with the venom in his voice that he’d aimed it directly at Keisuke. He pushed the doors to the inn open and strode inside. Making his way down the peaceful hallways, he’d wondered how Yamikage could’ve found himself in a place like this, let alone wanted to stay. His questions were answered when he saw the once-ninja in a simple pajama set,= lazily brushing his hair as Meta Knight entered the room.

“Good afternoon,” Masashi said, noticing him in the mirror. “May I help you?”

Meta Knight was mentally paralyzed for about 15 seconds, but he shook it off and said “Masashi, your friend has requested that you come downstairs.”

“Alright, give me a second.” He gathered his long brown hair and pulled it into a high ponytail with a flourish. Even as he left the room with the ninja, he still couldn’t believe that this was his friend. But just by looking at his face and hearing his voice, Meta Knight knew it could only be him. The trickiest part was figuring out how far gone he was.

“How long have you been… working here?” Meta Knight finally asked.

“I’m not sure, really,” He scrunched his nose and tilted his head to the side, thinking. “As far back as I can remember I’ve been here. Nina tells me that she found me right outside of the forest, beaten up, passed out, and wearing strange black armor. She took me in, cleaned me up, and I guess that’s just how I got to be here.”

Yamikage’s voice is far too kind, far too gentle. Meta Knight hated to think it, but he much prefers his violent, brooding, self-centered, cocky as the day is long ninja friend over whoever this watered-down do-gooder is supposed to be. He looked down and noticed the dark purple spider veins peeking out from under Yamikage’s jinbei.

“Ah, and what’s that?” the knight asks, pointing towards the markings.

“Oh, this?” Masashi looked down at himself and slightly opened up the front part of the garment. A heart-shaped mark covered his entire chest, a sickly purple blemish with strangled blood vessels framing it. “I think it’s a birthmark. Nina never mentioned it, so that’s what I assumed, anyways.”

“It’s worse than I thought.” Meta Knight’s own heart just about skipped a beat as he mumbled to himself. “But we’ve made it just in time.”

They made it into the greeting area, and Meta Knight wordlessly instructed Masashi to sit down on the couch. He obliged with a gentle nod, the spherical swordsman still feeling uneasy. Exiting the inn, Meta Knight made his way over to Tiff who was busy asking the girl – Nina, was it? – all about the town and its history.

“Tiff, have you got the antidote?” he asked, interrupting their talk.

“I thought I did,” she began as she pulled off her backpack to show him. “But now I can’t find it. I guessed you took it for safekeeping, but-!”

A loud crash alerted everyone back to the front door. Yamikage, angry as ever, had thrown his own father right through it, leaving a massive samurai-shaped hole in the wood and splattering the potion on the ground. Yamikage locked eyes with Benikage, and in a heartbeat, he sped over to the ninja and snatched the ninjato off his back. Kicking him down and using him as a makeshift springboard, he darted off into a nearby cave. In all the mayhem, Kirby followed his example by yanking Galaxia from Meta Knight’s scabbard and chasing after him.

“I told you to stay put!” Meta Knight said.

“And leave my son to die while you waffled over what to do? I don’t think so!” Keisuke countered.

“He was doing fine until you had to come along!” Meta Knight shouted. He took a deep breath and stormed back inside, stepping over the splintered wood. “I’ll inform the GSA of his whereabouts. If you really must prove yourself to be a hero, you can chase after him yourself. Tiff, come with me. There should be more than enough in here to create another antidote.”

“Meta Knight!” Tiff had had it up to here with his stern indifference towards the samurai and followed Meta Knight in. “What’s going on? Isn’t Keisuke trying to help us out?”

“We may be working with him, and Yamikage may be evil, but that doesn’t mean he is good.” He said. "Allow me to enlighten you about his father."

* * *

It was as if Yamikage had never run out of medication for his condition as he shot through the cave in a flash, the sword firmly secured to his back and his focus dead set on the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course his father would try to come in at the last second and try to save the day, isn’t that what he always did? It’s as if this one-off thought prompts another memory to spring forth.

Masashi was 16 years old and sat before his dying mother. He had the same illness as she now, how's that for irony? As she laid there delirious, she looked up at him with the proudest gaze in her eyes. She told him how much she loved him, how happy she was to have seen him grow, and how much he looked like his father, Keisuke. The handmaidens had come in with the antidote, but he'd heard more than enough. It wasn't so much the reveal that hurt him, but how his father had tried to shift the blame. _It wasn't his fault! She was a vile temptress! Her ninja kind couldn't be trusted!_

He left that night, but not without his father trying to hold him down one last time; a slash to the face that he'd barely managed to block. He'd received a scar as a parting gift.

His heart pounded and he grabbed his chest, emitting a cry of pain. Why now, why that memory specifically?

His scream alerted the pursuing puffball, and Kirby dashed after the noise. But the echoing sound off the sides of the cave threw him off focus, and he faltered at a crossroads. Between the crossroads stood a crystal, reflecting a perfect mirror image of the Star Warrior back at him. In the mirror, he was no longer holding Galaxia; he looked down and could see he was still holding her, but there wasn’t any weight in his paw. Looking back up at the mirror, he saw a pale-yellow light floating beside him.

So Galaxia spoke to him.

**Kirby, listen to me. Yamikage is a very, very bad man. The things that he’s done can never be erased. Are you confident you wish to proceed with this mission?**

Kirby thought long and hard about it, and then confidently shouted “Poyo!”

**Very well. Carry on, Kirby of the Stars.**

He nodded gently and went down the path to the left.

* * *

Tuff had been surprised how with easily he managed to sneak away from his older sister and Meta Knight, even with the both of them still angry at Keisuke. Usually, she would’ve been on him like a hawk, but she seemed a bit distracted by now. Even when Dedede was being his usual pea brained self, she never faltered in getting Tuff to stay in one place; so whatever Meta Knight had told her about Keisuke, it had to have been bad. But he didn’t care much, being able to do whatever he could to help Kirby out was good enough for him.

He wasn’t the only one to share in this opinion, as Benikage had decided to tag along, hopeful for a rematch with Yamikage and a chance to aid the little guy as well. Tuff liked having him around, it was nice having somebody his age to talk to, rather than the kids in Cappy Town who ranged from a grade younger to half a decade. As of current, Benikage was vocally ruminating on Yamikage’s sheer existence.

“What I’m wondering is how’s Keisuke supposed to have married a ninja? Everybody knows that ninjas aren’t allowed to get married or have kids! It’s just not done!”

“What do you mean?” Tuff asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Well, according to rule 15 in the ninja handbook, all members of a ninja clan are strictly prohibited from matrimony and formation of familial units.” Benikage recited in an official-sounding narration. He cleared his throat, resuming his normal voice and continued. “I think it’s because they don’t want any families to get broken up if something bad happens. Being a ninja is a pretty tough job!”

“Do you think he’s not really his dad?” Tuff asked. “Maybe that’s why Tiff and Meta Knight are so mad at him.”

“I dunno,” Benikage said, scratching the back of his head. “It seemed like it was a little more intense than that.”

“Wait, if ninjas can’t have kids, then how did you become a ninja?”

“My dad’s a weatherman.” He sheepishly admitted, his entire face turning redder than his armor. “And other father’s the only person who knows about it. He just thinks I’m going to summer camp.” Benikage clapped his hands over his face in shame, and Tuff nervously cleared his throat and started whistling, desperately searching his thoughts to find a way to change the subject.

Fortunately, an oncoming noise from down the mirrored corridor snapped them out of their thoughts. Unfortunately, the implications of what an oncoming noise from down the mirrored corridor might mean snapped them out of their thoughts. It sounded like a giant wind-up clock, a steady rhythmic ticking echoing off the sides of the walls, with a heavy footfall to match. Both boys gulped and pinned themselves against the wall as they watched its shadow creep closer and closer. Benikage gave a small gasp when it finally revealed itself.

“I’ve heard of that monster!” Benikage whispered. “It’s called Mr. Tick-Tock! People say that it can ring so loud, it’ll make your eardrums explode!”

“And Kirby and the traitor guy don’t know anything about it!” Tuff whispered back. They watched on, frozen in fear as it stomped away down the hall. “How’re we supposed to warn ‘em?”

* * *

Whether it was from his memory-induced fatigue or overall body decomposition from the illness, Yamikage was doing horribly as he trudged down the hallway. He didn’t even know why he was running, or where this led, he just hoped that it would get him far, far away from his father and Meta Knight. But his chest ached, and it was getting harder and harder to move. So he stopped for a moment, sitting down and leaning against the wall to catch his breath.

“Poyo!”

Kirby stood in front of him, and though his voice was squeaky per usual, his face was contorted in anger. Well, as far as angry as Kirby’s face could get. It was more of a cute little pout, really. Yamikage glared and bared his teeth, but another wave of pain shot through him, and he slammed the back of his head against the wall. Though he said nothing, Kirby could tell in his eyes that he needed help.

And so, Kirby carried Yamikage on his back, the ninja’s long legs dragging behind the pink puff as he waddled forth in search of an exit. It probably had something to do him being preoccupied with the extra 60 pounds on his back, but Kirby had completely forgotten which way he’d came. All he’d remembered was going left… so did that mean he would need to go right? And then, a literal ray of hope shone through, a glint of light shining in the distance.

Could it be the sun?

No.

Could it be the reflection of Galaxia’s holy light off the side of Mr. Tick Tock’s copper siding?

Oh, yes.

The giant clock monster bellowed as its massive form dwarfed Kirby, its massive footfall knocking rocks right for them. Kirby yelped and sidestepped as best as he could with a ninja on his back. Luckily, Tuff and Benikage showed up with a handy amount of distractions in tow. A couple smoke bombs were enough to keep him busy long enough for Kirby to gently place Yamikage down and charge into battle himself.

Yamikage wasn’t a pessimist, but he wasn’t stupid, either. Their attacks seemed to be annoying it more than anything; these children would be annihilated if he didn’t do something. The sword he’d borrowed from Benikage was gone, but he saw Meta Knight’s Holy Galaxia a few feet before him, glistening in the low light. He knew the stories, how she’d burn away the flesh of all those unworthy, but he clutched onto the handle tight. Electricity coursed through his entire body, pouring adrenaline through his veins as he swung the sword and slammed it hard into the mirror.

“KIRBY! SUCK IT UP!” Kirby dutifully inhaled the fractured shards, transforming into Mirror Kirby. Yamikage fell to the ground, his legs buckling beneath him and his vision swimming into blackness. He could hear voices calling out his name, people cheering Kirby on, but he couldn’t make sense of who was shouting and to whom. All he wanted to do was sleep.

* * *

Yamikage’s eyes fluttered open, and he groggily moaned as he rubbed his head and sat up straight. He was in a nice, warm bed, and his usual armor was back on. Looking around the room, he saw Meta Knight standing at the foot of the bed, causing him to reflexively cover himself. When the knight offered no further response, he dropped the blanket and rolled his eyes.

“This is the part where you say that you told me so, isn’t it?” He asked, propping his head up with one hand.

“No,” Meta Knight said, walking to his bedside. “This is the part where I offer you a second chance.”

“A second-?!” Yamikage was stunned for a second, and then sneered at him in disbelief. “You do realize what I’ve done, right? I’m irredeemable! Not you, or that yellow-haired little brat, or that puny puffy ball of mischief can change that!”

“You do not deserve redemption,” Meta Knight continues. “But you do deserve a fair trial. You’ll be brought to court, and your punishment will be decided on there.”

“I knew you’d be too much of a coward to finish me off yourself!” Yamikage yelled, but pulled back when Meta Knight’s icy glare cut into him. “What kind of a second chance is that, anyways?”

“A chance to prove that you are no longer a monster. Nightmare is long gone, and so are many of his creations. But you are an outlier, somewhere in the…” Meta Knight searched for the word, waving his hand around. “…eh, dark grey area. You have done great good for the galaxy, and you have also done great evil. The second chance I give you is to show everyone what your true intentions have been all along, with no subterfuge or revenge plots forced in the way. Do you take it?”

Yamikage rolls his eyes once more, and falls back onto the pillow. He thinks back to every memory he’d recalled, everything that had led up to them, and everything that had occurred in up until this moment. He firmly nods.

“If I must,” He holds out his hand to shake Meta Knight’s, and is greeted with a heavy set of iron manacles around his wrists. He blinks and narrows his eyes. “Ah.”

Meta Knight led Yamikage out of the inn, roughly forcing him forward as the ninja bowed his head in defeat. He saw Nina standing at the doors and she quickly turns away once they’d made eye contact. He swore he could see her beginning to tear up as he lifted his gaze towards the starship waiting for him.

“Be grateful, Yamikage,” Keisuke scolded as he walked past. “You betrayed the entire galaxy, and you got a woman and a new life out of it.” When Yamikage didn’t respond, he growled and raised his voice. “Do you hear me, Yamikage? Don’t you understand what you’ve done?”

“Of course he understands. After all…” Meta Knight pauses, and stops leading Yamikage forward. “The sins of the father weigh heavy on the son.”

As the knight resumed shoving the ninja towards the vehicle, Yamikage took the time to process his statement. Taking in the sheer horror in his father’s face, the fact that he was not being led to the Galaxy Soldier Army ship, and the realization that Sir Arthur came alone, it all clicked into place. For the first time in a long time, Yamikage laughed long and hard, cackling all the way to the train.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's a reminder that Yamikage's not a good person.

Dedede had spared no expense with his next scheme. The stage, having been built in the castle’s courtyard, was as vast and wide as the castle itself. The red-carpeted staircase with the top obscured by black satin curtains, leading up from the porcelain white stage looked like it came out of a movie, or maybe from the interior design magazines Lady Like had under her coffee table. Whatever the case, the spectacle could be seen from miles around and the king had invited everyone to witness… whatever he was going to show.

“What do you think the king’s got planned, sis?” Tuff asked.

“I’ve got a feeling it has to do with Yamikage,” Tiff reasoned. “I bet he’s probably going to take credit for the whole thing, and talk about how brilliant he was for taking him down!”

“Boy, am I glad that they locked him up! Though, I kinda feel bad for him.”

“I know, but Yamikage made his choice. No matter what bad stuff happened to him, he still betrayed the Star Warriors.”

“Nah!” Tuff said, shaking his head. “I mean, I feel bad for the guy that he has to share his cell with.”

“That’s fair.” Tiff agreed.

“Alright! Three, two, one!” The cameras roared to life as Escargoon counted down. “Welcome one and all to King Dedede’s royal celebration! We’ve got a jam-packed show for all of you tonight, so get your soda and popcorn ready for the experience of a lifetime!” He gestured behind him at four chairs in pairs on each side of the stage, where Meta Knight, Kirby, Cavalier Jack, and Garlude sat.

“Joining us are four of our town’s greatest defenders!” Garlude smiled gently, Cavalier Jack gave a wink and finger guns (much to the joy of the single women in the crowd), Meta Knight gave a brisk nod, and Kirby looked the wrong way and giggled happily. Escargoon walked up to him and placed the microphone right next to his mouth. "What have you got to say about this spectacular event?"

“Poyo!” Kirby squeaked.

“Should’ve seen that one coming,” he muttered under his breath. “And now, onto the main event! Presenting, your Great King Dedede!”

Dedede strode from behind the stairs, confusing the cappies in the crowd greatly. Sure, he was decked out in his regalia from when he’d attempted to celebrate his anniversary of conquering Cappy Town, but if he wasn’t behind the curtain, who was? Dedede’s expression remained proud as ever as he marched up to the center of the stage, and snatched the microphone from Escargoon’s hands.

“Citizens of Dream Land! Y’all already know what time it is! It’s time for some redededemption!” A Waddle Dee gently pulled Kirby out of his chair and led him to the tubby monarch’s side, as another walked up to the king and handed him a tiny red box. Dedede opened the box to reveal a medallion in 24-karat gold, shaped like the peace symbol on the back of his jacket, and scooped up Kirby with the other arm.

“To make up for my dirty deeds, I’ve decided to give Kirby what he really deserves!” He briefly handed the microphone back to the snail so that he could place the medal around what he deemed Kirby’s neck to be. The little puffball looked ridiculous with it on, but was too distracted by how shiny it was to care. “This here’s the medal of honor, just for him saving everybody from Nightmare Enterprises.”

Tiff rolled her eyes. _She called it._

“And he ain’t the only one who deserves an olive branch o’ peace,” Dedede continued, gently placing Kirby on the ground. “This next one is for a man who lost everything! Had the roughest of times! Suffered great injustices, and came out on top! A real Dreamlandian hero!”

A single tear welled up in Dedede’s eye, and he gave an overdramatic sob. The Waddle Dees presented another box, opening it to reveal another medal as King Dedede recomposed himself. A triumphant chorus of trumpets sounded as the curtains pulled apart to reveal a fifth chair, on its own pedestal before the stairs. A bright spotlight lit up upon the chair, revealing a certain somebody leisurely slouching in it.

“Yamikage?!” Tiff yelled.

“No way!” Tuff yelled back in kind. “Even Dedede isn’t that dumb!”

The ninja’s long legs strode down the stairs, as everyone stared in shock and awe. Even Meta Knight was taken aback, gripping the armrests of his chair as his eyes flickered white. Yamikage winked at Meta Knight as he walked past, and knelt before the king. Dedede smiled warmly and placed the medallion around his neck, as the Waddle Dees threw confetti and struck up the band. Yamikage rose, admired the gold medal, and then turned to look at the stunned Star Warriors with a self-congratulatory aura around himself.

There was a tense moment of silence as they made eye contact.

“Traitor!” Jack shouted, and barreled at the ninja. Yamikage leapt out of the way before he could be tackled, only to get kicked out of the sky via a strong kick from Garlude. Kirby, still unsure of why he was here or what he should be doing, joined the group as they ran around the stage, his gold medal clinking against the ground as he toddled. Dedede and Escargoon could only watch in horror as their newest plot proceeded to unravel like a frayed sweater thrown to a group of rowdy kittens.

“Oh-ho! Classic Yamikage! Always down for some sparring with his two closest friends! Let’s give a big round of applause for Yamikage!” Escargoon cheered into the microphone, desperation evident in his voice as he tried to play it off. The second the cappies began giving a quite confused ovation, he immediately turned to Dedede and whispered above the sound. “Sire, this isn’t going the way we planned! We’ve gotta do something!”

“Allow me,” With the flourish of a Spanish guitar and the gentle click of his sabatons, Meta Knight leapt from his chair and before the scene of the brawl. “Jack, Garlude. Unhand him.”

The purple Star Warriors looked up, panting heavily. Jack had him in a headlock, and Garlude had a death grip on both of the ninja’s ankles. Yamikage didn’t seem to care about either instance, the look on his face almost bored with their attempts to subdue him. Yamikage suddenly disappeared, teleporting from their arms to stand beside the blue swordsman, leaving the duo to fall flat on their faces.

“Aren’t you two still spry as ever?” Yamikage also seemed to take the revival of his fallen friends in stride as well. “You’re still fools, all the same.”

“Yeah, and you’re still a creep!” Jack shouted. He quickly pulled Kirby away from Yamikage, something the ninja regarded with a half-step towards the pair. “Try anything, and I’ll knock your block off!”

“Always protecting the innocent, typical you. Pity you couldn’t do the same for your wife.” He taunted. Jack’s hands balled into fists as he glared, but Garlude held out her arm in front of him and shook her head.

“Jack, no! Yamikage isn’t worth it!” she cried. Her brows furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she turned to glare at the ninja. “But was joining Nightmare worth it? Even after all the awful things that happened to you? Why join somebody who’d want your head on a platter?”

“Oh, you would know about that, wouldn’t you? But here’s the difference between you and me.” Garlude immediately tensed up as Yamikage’s eyes glinted. “My father, of his own free volition, mind you! That man used me like I was nothing more than a trophy to him, and for what? Accolades in a backwater village that nobody cared about?! You were born into a criminal empire and raised among their ranks, did you really expect them to treat you fairly? You should’ve known better than that.”

The next blow came from Meta Knight; a direct punch in the mouth. Yamikage grinned.

“Ah, of course. Now you’ve decided to fight back, huh? Couldn’t so much as lift a finger towards any of NME’s monsters, but you’ll gladly take down an unarmed…” Yamikage paused, feeling something land on the back corner of his tongue. “An… unarmed…”

He retched slightly and pulled out the unknown object from his mouth. It was one of his own teeth, the root still limply dangling from the top, covered in watery blood. Sure, having nightmares about your teeth falling out was pretty common, but the sharp pinch he felt from where it had been and the iron-like taste hitting the back of his throat? Not so much.

“I’m… not dreaming.” Yamikage’s irises shrunk as he looked across the stage, eyes scanning over everyone before him, knees buckling as the realization slowly trickled in. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he passed out without so much as another sound.

Escargoon blinked, and then turned to the camera with a sheepish expression. “…we’ll be right back after this quick commercial break!”


End file.
